Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat today expressed satisfaction with the progress of implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Meghalaya.
Shekhawat is on a two-day visit to Meghalaya to review development work of his Ministry. Today he attended a review meeting of different Central government schemes such as Jal Jeevan Mission, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana-Har Kher Ko Pani, Springshed Development Project for Rejuvenation of Springs for Climate Resilient Development in Meghalaya and other.
While comparing the coverage of JJM in Meghalaya with the national achievement, the Union minister said that at the time when the scheme was launched, the State had less than 1 per cent of coverage of tap water connected rural households. During these years, the minister exclaimed with satisfaction that Meghalaya has made remarkable progress and has been able to achieve 41.5 per cent of tap water connections.
Shekhawat further added that while the national jump was 36 per cent, Meghalaya could make a jump of around 41 per cent.
He added, “Today we have again reviewed in detail how the challenges and bottlenecks in achieving 100 per cent coverage in the State could be addressed. Out of the 6.30 lakh households, tap connections have been established in 2.61 lakh households. I have firm belief that Meghalaya will be able to provide tap water connections to the remaining households way before the deadline.”
The Union minister lauded the efforts of the Meghalaya government for the ambitious projects that it has undertaken for spring rejuvenation and watershed management.
“The achievements of Meghalaya in these sectors would become an example for other states to follow,” he added.
Shekhawat concluded with the belief that Meghalaya can be the torch bearer among the other North East states with the various ambitious projects in different sectors.
He reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision and commitment to bring in all-round development in the North East.
He added that under the leadership of the Prime Minister, several measures are being taken on a large scale to provide relief to the North East states from the ravages of floods.
Referring to the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Shekhawat said that the aim is to provide water to each and every household and agricultural land.
The Meghalaya government also apprised the Union minister of the initiatives of the State government for conservation of land and water that are being implemented in the State through community participation which included projects under Meghalaya Basin Development Authority, ADB funded Climate Adaptive Community Based Water Harvesting Project among others.
Earlier during the day, Shekhawat participated in a discussion on “Space Applications in Flood Management in the North Eastern Region” at North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC), Umiam.
Talking about his interaction at NESAC, he informed that the discussions revolved around technological intervention to expedite the development activities and its implementation in the region.
